The Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Department yesterday vowed to crack down on ticket scalping after the practice led to chaos over the pursuit of tickets for Taiwanese pop diva Jody Chiang’s (江蕙) 16 farewell concerts.
The department made the remarks following a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Culture and the National Police Agency yesterday to deliberate on countermeasures that can be used to tackle rampant ticket-touting practices.
“The ministry said it would communicate with ticketing companies as soon as possible to address the chaotic sales we have seen in recent days,” the department said. “If necessary, it has plans to set up a mechanism to avoid such situations.”
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
The department said the National Police Agency and the Taipei City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division have launched a probe into the alleged ticket scalping and that those who are caught selling Chiang’s concert tickets at inflated prices face fines of up to NT$18,000 according to Item 2, Article 64 of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
“The department is also considering raising the cap on the fine to further deter ticket scalping,” it said.
Chiang, who has released 60 albums and won 11 Golden Melody Awards, announced on Friday that she will end her four-decade-long singing career with 16 farewell concerts to be held from July to September, of which 12 will be held in Taipei and four in Greater Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, angry fans eager to get their hands on the tickets shouted at each other and tried to force their way into the promoter’s office in Taipei yesterday, the third day of chaos in an embarrassing ticketing debacle.
Before tickets went on sale at noon, fans with numbered cards and those without were seen shouting at each other, and police at the building’s entrance tried to keep order as some fans tried to shove their way into the building that houses the promoter’s office.
The dispute arose because Kuang Hong Arts Management, the concerts’ promoter, changed its ticket purchasing rules on Tuesday, distributing 2,500 numbered cards to people in line, but only 248 were able to get tickets before the day’s quota was met.
Kuang Hong subsequently announced that the line would start at No. 249 of the cards distributed yesterday, even though it had originally stipulated that new numbers would be handed out separately on Monday, Tuesday and yesterday — the three days that tickets were on sale.
“I’ve waited for more than 30 hours. I slept here last night. It was cold and rainy,” said a woman who said she was angry at Kuang Hong for changing its rule on Tuesday.
Those with numbers urged the promoter to stick to its rule change and honor the cards it handed out on Tuesday. Others who were lined up urged the beleaguered promoter to come out and face the crowd.
Ticket sales commenced at noon, under police supervision, starting with the person who had card No. 249.
Additional reporting by CNA
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